


behind curtains, on the stage, in the audience (i'm yours)

by baecobz



Series: in every universe [10]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Bickering, Established Relationship, High School, Insecurity, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Theatre, lapslock, renjuns a true sweetheart okay!! he means well!!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-15 08:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14787060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baecobz/pseuds/baecobz
Summary: despite what everyone else sees, yukhei understands and loves mark more than he ever thought would be possible.





	behind curtains, on the stage, in the audience (i'm yours)

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for not posting ystd!! im back to posting regularly so hhhh Thank You for putting up w my last-minute issues n stuff  
> u know the drill; i havent proofread this so if u see mistakes just lmk so i can fix it as soon as i can!!

yukhei was far too used to getting up at unreasonable hours in the morning, truding over grabbing homework and scripts and rushing to school, looking forward to lunch and play rehearsal alone.

today, though, his rough morning was even worse than usual for a couple of reasons. first, he knew he had to take a make up test for his calculus class, so he’d be stuck eating lunch alone as he punched random numbers into his calculator and hoped for the best.

and second?

yukhei had stayed up well past three in the morning, talking with mark over the phone and chatting mindlessly. it had started closer to midnight, when mark had finally finished his homework (artsfest meetings took up an annoying amount of time, leaving less for homework, and even less for yukhei). since then, yukhei had just rambled on about his family and his classes in usual fashion, waiting for mark’s breathing to even out and fade in the background.

it had become a habit since they started dating; whenever they had time, they’d text each other to see if they were both free, and then they’d call and talk endlessly.

depending on the day, one of them would always end up more tired than the other-- their sports practices and club meetings never really coincided with each other, for better or for worse, so whoever was more awake would be delegated to put the other person to sleep with quiet anecdotes and comments.

the problem is that it comes back to bite yukhei-- like today, when it’s an hour into their play rehearsal and he keeps forgetting the same line. it’s not even a long one, it’s just impossible to remember, and yukhei keeps getting tongue tied and lost over and over.

even after mark had helped him go through his lines yesterday, yukhei can still feel himself drifting off and blanking whenever it’s his turn. (still, he only slightly regrets having stayed up so late; time with mark is hard enough to come by, so who is he to cut it any shorter?) he whacks his head, frowning, and murmurs an apology.

“sorry, can we start over?” he scratches at the back of his neck and offers what’s probably a pitying smile, because ten just sighs and nods, waving it off with a sigh.

sicheng just gives him an encouraging nod and pat on the shoulder before running it through again, always speaking slow enough for yukhei to keep up and stay focused.

in fact, yukhei’s finally settling into his role after what was probably an hour of chaos and forgotten lines, when a sharp voice cuts in and ruins the scene entirely.

“please, for the love of god, stop stepping on this part of the set when you know i just painted it.”

yukhei freezes when he sees mark staring back at him, hands on his hips and ragged t-shirt rolled up at the sleeves. it’s already covered in paint and sawdust, probably from the new props ten insisted they make, but it’s charming nonetheless. yukhei has half a mind to comment on it when mark marches forward with narrowed eyes, flipping yukhei off as he inspects the stairs that yukhei had stepped on.

“i didn’t know!” yukhei huffs, stepping back as mark tosses him a spare towel and a wipe.

“you’re supposed to be the lead, aren’t you? shouldn’t you be aware of small stuff like this?” mark kneels down to drag the paint bucket closer. he’s glaring at the clear footprint on the bottom step like it’s responsible for the destruction of everything good in his life, which is impossible because yukhei still exists. yukhei rolls his eyes, pout going ignored as mark continues. “i’m going to repaint it, so please,  _ please _ don’t step here anymore.”

“you know, this wouldn’t have been a problem if you had just finished the set last week like you were supposed to. except, wait, weren’t you behind on building the set, too?”

“that’s because you broke three doors!” mark yells, pointing a paint-covered finger against yukhei’s chest. it makes a bright red stain on the front of his shirt, but neither of them even flinch. (yukhei’s busy trying to maintain composure while mark’s finger burns against yukhei’s chest, warm and light and too familiar for comfort.)

“oh yeah? well, you’re the one who said--”

“okay, that’s enough!” a harried looking ten stomps onto the stage, pulling the two boys apart. “can i please have one practice without you guys at each other’s throats? just  _ one _ ?” yukhei opens his mouth to protest but ten simply cuts him off with a curt look and a hand. (he gets named student director for one play, and suddenly he’s thriving off of the power rush from bossing people-- read: yukhei-- around.) “everyone, we’re going to have an early lunch break. mark, yukhei, take the time to calm down and focus, will you? we have a show to run.”

mark mutters something that sounds suspiciously like  _ run to the ground, maybe _ , and it’s enough to make yukhei laugh as he hops off of the stage. mark glances at him, glare making way for the familiar twinkle of amusement that yukhei’s best accustomed to, and grins.

yukhei knows this is normal-- for them, at least-- and doesn’t even bother trying to correct people when they accuse them of fighting. they’re empty words, for the most part, and nothing’s ever said to hurt the other person. both mark and yukhei get heated during practice pretty easily, a result of mountains of passion and hours of hard work poured into each performance time and time again; they trust each other enough to know that they’ll save their real arguments for private moments when they can sit quietly and just talk.

(it usually ends up with both of them in tears, tossing complaints and tissues until one of them breaks and finds the strength to apologize first, but. no one needs to know that.)

instead, he lets everyone think that they’re just arguing again, since correcting them is harder than letting it slide, and mark doesn’t like it when he makes a big deal out of stuff like this; yukhei lets himself relax in the hallway, sliding down to sit beside renjun by the lockers.

renjun’s just a year younger than him and mark both, but he’s always been one of the biggest helpers when it came to their plays. ever since the younger boy had transferred to their school (last year, when renjun had been a sophomore and mark and yukhei juniors), he had gone out of his way to help with stage makeup, set painting, and getting ten his much-needed coffee. it was a feat no one else could probably accomplish, and was thus more than enough reason for yukhei to take the boy under his wing and baby him constantly.

(mark said it was just because renjun was chinese, but yukhei would disagree. kun, sicheng, and chenle trailing behind him would beg to differ.)

he’s munching on one of renjun’s spare dumplings, savoring the feeling of homecooked food and familiarity, when renjun speaks up.

“can i ask, like-- why do you and mark hyung hate each other?” renjun leans against the window and tips his head as though he’s more intimidating from a different angle. (he’s not; if anything, he looks even cuter than usual.)

yukhei’s so caught up with the way renjun says it that for a moment, he doesn’t even process any of his words-- then it’s rushing in and he’s left gaping back, eyes wide.

“i don’t hate him!” he makes a gesture with his hand that’s somewhere between a finger wag and a peace sign. whatever it ends up looking like, yukhei hopes it’s convincing. “dude, you know that mark and i are dating, right?”

it’s renjun’s turn to stare now; the younger boy watches with careful eyes like he’s waiting for yukhei to yell out  _ just kidding! _ or something similar.

“you’ve got to be joking.”

the thing is, he looks serious, and for some reason, it really bothers yukhei. he knows he and mark act like they fight a lot, and while he can understand that, he always thought it was still clear how close they were.

“no?” he says eventually.

renjun continues to look unimpressed.

“i literally don’t even believe you. i physically  _ can’t _ . are you serious? don’t you have a better lie than that?”

“injun, i swear--”

“just say you’re hate-fu--”

“i’m going to call him.” yukhei exclaims, heat rushing to his face as renjun remains stoic and blank-faced as ever. “i’m going to call him, and he’s going to tell you that we’re dating, because we  _ are _ .”

“sure.” renjun drawls. yukhei flicks his forehead before digging his phone out of his pocket and going to his recent texts, looking for the name that makes him smile whenever he sees it.

yukhei doesn’t even have a proper contact name for mark, just a handful of heart emojis with the text  _ simba _ before it. their last text conversation was them yelling nonsense in all caps, which probably isn’t a good sign, but yukhei knows it was just because mark had gotten a good grade on his lab report and they weren’t able to express their happiness any other way.

renjun, oblivious to this very important face, just raises an eyebrow but otherwise stays silent as yukhei presses call. (it’s still not that great, though, since renjun just looks disappointed and skeptical of everything yukhei’s done in his life, which isn’t exactly great for a sensitive soul like yukhei.)

the call doesn’t start until mark picks up on the second ring, humming in lieu of an actual greeting.

yukhei doesn’t mind, since he figures that mark’s probably busy eating and hanging out with sicheng, so he continues on as normal.

“hi yukhei’s boyfriend,” renjun yells before he even has the chance to speak, and yukhei has to push him away so he can complain into the phone.

“ _ babe _ ,” yukhei whines in his Specific Cute Voice reserved for Cute Boys alone (as in, mark and no one else), pout only faltering for a moment when he hears laughter filtering through the speakers, “you know i love you, right?” he doesn’t even hesitate a second before he’s plowing on unperturbed. “because i do. so, so much. even if i yell at you, i still love you. like, when you make a big deal out of nothing and then blame me for it.”

“what are you trying to say?” mark’s still laughing, the bright lilt to his words a clear echo of his own smile.

“i love you but apparently we act like we hate each other, so renjun literally doesn’t believe we’re dating.”

“renjun!” mark yells in what’s probably fake-shock. “you literally sit at lunch with us, what do you mean?”

“you spend the entire period arguing and throwing food at each other.” renjun points out. mark starts to say something, but renjun continues on, unbothered as ever. perks of being louder than a crappy phone speaker. “if you acted like half the other couples in our friend group it’d be easier to believe, okay? i don’t even remember the last time i saw you guys talk at a normal level. i’m talking sound, so yelling is  _ not _ a normal level, stop looking at me like that, hyung.” he pushes yukhei’s shoulder when the older boy grumbles back, grabbing yukhei’s phone and huffing into it. “mark hyung, listen-- can you really blame me? you guys don’t even seem like  _ friends _ .”

mark sputters out what’s meant to be a well-worded response and counter argument, but instead ends up sounding more like whale songs than anything else.

“okay, well, we’re dating, so. that’s all, see you in a few minutes!”

mark manages a small  _ bye _ before yukhei’s hanging up and shoving his phone back into his back pocket, ignoring the uncomfortable twist in his gut. he can deal with it for now, can push it aside while he waits for some private time with mark. even with all of their bickering, it bothers him to know that their relationship seems so far out of reality that even soft, open-minded people like renjun had trouble seeing it.

he pushes the thought into the back of his mind, dedicating the rest of his focus to reciting lines and stage cues until they were burned into his memory as habits. he figures he does a good enough job of it, because even if mark keeps shooting him concerned glances when yukhei stumbles into the balcony a few times, ten doesn’t complain.

he ends up staying a bit longer after rehearsal ends, going over a few scenes with sicheng and renjun one last time, but then he’s shouldering his bag (complete with his water bottle, wallet, and his snack collection) and humming on his way out of the theater.

mark, unsurprisingly, is sitting by the school entrance, scribbling away what’s probably physics homework as he waits. yukhei can’t even stop himself from smiling at the sight, because there’s something about the fact that mark is there for  _ him _ makes his heart lurch.

(with moments like this, yukhei knows he has no reason to be insecure about their relationship, and yet.)

they aren’t even halfway home when mark tugs on yukhei’s wrist, interrupting the older boy’s rant about some thread he saw on twitter earlier to pull them to a standstill.

“hey,” mark says softly, “what’s wrong?”

a hundred regrets and worries flutter through yukhei’s mind, and as he struggles to catch the right one to avoid mark’s concern, he speaks up again.

“talk to me. you’ve been acting weird since lunch, so don’t try to lie about it. is this about renjun?”

“i mean, i guess?” yukhei lets out a defeated sigh, walking once more so he has an excuse to look ahead and not at mark. it feels silly to be so consumed by his insecurities like this, but he wonders how much happier mark would be if he was with someone who showered him in love and affection instead of bothering him with pseudo arguments or complaints. “it’s dumb, don’t worry about it.”

_ dumb _ , he thinks,  _ because i’m dumb and you deserve better _ . he doesn’t say it, because he knows mark would just be upset that he’s back to his bad habits of self-deprecation and doubt but he can’t help it. not when he’s mark’s stupid boyfriend and he doesn’t even treat him that well, and--

“hey.” mark does his tried-and-true method of holding yukhei’s face in his hands and smiling. even when yukhei’s in the most sour moods, all ounces of gratitude and contentment buried beneath his self-loathing, all it takes is a smile from mark for everything to take the back burner. “listen to me. i love you so much, and even if other people can’t see it, i know you do. just like i know you love me too, alright? it doesn’t matter if we act the way people expect us or want us to, because this isn’t about them. it’s about me and you, and honestly? i like the way we talk to each other. i can trust you to cheer me up and joke around with me, and i know even when you act mad, you still care. if other people know that, it’s not your fault.”

yukhei gives a tiny, pathetic nod in response, one that roughly translates to  _ i know but sometimes i still worry and doubt and i just love you so much that i’m terrified of losing you _ . mark just holds his face tighter, pressing a quick kiss to both his cheeks before pulling back and pouting.

“ _ xuxi _ ,” he whines, “i love you so, so much. i’m not leaving you anytime soon, i promise. even if i do, it won’t be for long. c’mon, i’m the one who insists on facetiming whenever we don’t see each other for a bit, aren’t i? trust me.”

and that-- maybe yukhei can do that.

he might not be very good at trusting himself, not yet at least, too worried about messing up and ruining things, but.

but he can trust mark.

he nods again, slower, more convinced, and mark goes back to smiling.

(yukhei smiles back out of pure muscle memory. his heart’s only half in it, but half is still better than nothing, so mark just takes his hand and leads the way home.)

mark ends up walking yukhei back to his house before heading back to his own, and yukhei sits around on his bed for what feels like a year before mark is calling him.

they don’t talk about it anymore, mostly because mark knows that yukhei needs time to think and process on his own. if it’s still an issue, mark knows yukhei will bring it up-- because even yukhei doesn’t trust himself, mark does, and it’s more than enough.

instead, they talk about rehearsals and broadway musicals and buses to new york; they end up talking on the phone until two in the morning, when yukhei finally drifts off and mark finally brings himself to end the call after he’s sure that yukhei’s asleep.

it’s just asking for yet another rough morning, but it’s a gentle, warm end to a rough day, so yukhei knows every extra hour spent awake was worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> fun facts abt this universe:  
> -the play theyre doing is "the odd couple"  
> -marks a vis/music arts gay bc he loves a good aesthetic, yukhei is a theater/athletic gay bc he thrives w the attention  
> -they met during auditions when yukhei was panicking and mark helped him practice  
> -yukhei didnt realize mark was gonna work backstage so he was v upset when he didnt see his name on the cast list  
> -then he showed up to rehearsal and nearly screamed when he saw mark
> 
> if u guys have any ideas/wanna talk abt markhei/ure in the mood to yell, please feel free to hmu on [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/6woojin) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/woo6in)!!!!! msgs from u all make my day <3  
> any and all kudos/bookmarks/comments are genuinely so so wonderful!!!! thank u v v much i lov u all w my entire heart


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